If you own an xbox, the choice here is fairly obvious. There isn't much to say other than if you don't have a wireless controller already, get one. If you only own a PC however, or play games on your PC as well as your 360 like I do, then things get a little more interesting.
I wholeheartedly recommend using a 360 controller in combination with the Xbox Wireless Receiver for Windows
. The range on this thing is great and goes through walls. You can tuck the receiver behind your monitor, under your desk, or in a drawer and you'll get perfect reception. The support for this controller is excellent in all applications I've tried, the drivers are minimal, and the controller even turns itself off after not being used for a while to save battery life. In a Games For Windows title, all buttons automatically work like they would on the 360, no muss, no fuss. Hitting the Guide button even pops up the Windows Live overlay if you're playing a game that supports it like Fallout 3 or GTA 4 (normally the Guide button just gives you a summary of your battery life).
It is also possible to install a third party profiler app that lets you bind keystrokes and mouse movements to the controller, like XPadder (free). This lets me play a movie on my PC, and then sit on the couch and use the controller play/pause/ff/rewind,etc. I've had zero problems using this controller with xpadder.
If you like emulating old games on your pc (nes/snes/n64/etc), the large number of buttons lets you map the controller to pretty much any retro console controller you can think of.
As for the merits of the controller itself, there are plenty of reviews here that praise its comfort, feel, and reliability, and revile the D-Pad, so I won't go over any of that.
Summary:
+ Most comfortable and reliable controller I've used.
+ Wireless, great range, good price on amazon.
+ Good battery life and auto-shutoff feature.
+ Great game & app support with little to no headaches or installs.
- D-Pad is nearly useless, but there are few games where this makes a difference, like fighting games.
- It can be hard to find the proper wireless receiver driver if you are running 64-bit Vista, but its out there if you search hard enough.
edit:
Works flawlessly in Windows 7 x64 without having to hunt down the driver!
The D-Pad can be improved by following these instructions: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Fix-the-d-pad-on-the-Xbox-360-control-pad-mor/. I tried it on one of my controllers and can verify it works great and feels much better, but be careful, and remember that you'll be voiding your warranty and can damage your controller.
I wholeheartedly recommend using a 360 controller in combination with the Xbox Wireless Receiver for Windows
. The range on this thing is great and goes through walls. You can tuck the receiver behind your monitor, under your desk, or in a drawer and you'll get perfect reception. The support for this controller is excellent in all applications I've tried, the drivers are minimal, and the controller even turns itself off after not being used for a while to save battery life. In a Games For Windows title, all buttons automatically work like they would on the 360, no muss, no fuss. Hitting the Guide button even pops up the Windows Live overlay if you're playing a game that supports it like Fallout 3 or GTA 4 (normally the Guide button just gives you a summary of your battery life). It is also possible to install a third party profiler app that lets you bind keystrokes and mouse movements to the controller, like XPadder (free). This lets me play a movie on my PC, and then sit on the couch and use the controller play/pause/ff/rewind,etc. I've had zero problems using this controller with xpadder.
If you like emulating old games on your pc (nes/snes/n64/etc), the large number of buttons lets you map the controller to pretty much any retro console controller you can think of.
As for the merits of the controller itself, there are plenty of reviews here that praise its comfort, feel, and reliability, and revile the D-Pad, so I won't go over any of that.
Summary:
+ Most comfortable and reliable controller I've used.
+ Wireless, great range, good price on amazon.
+ Good battery life and auto-shutoff feature.
+ Great game & app support with little to no headaches or installs.
- D-Pad is nearly useless, but there are few games where this makes a difference, like fighting games.
- It can be hard to find the proper wireless receiver driver if you are running 64-bit Vista, but its out there if you search hard enough.
edit:
Works flawlessly in Windows 7 x64 without having to hunt down the driver!
The D-Pad can be improved by following these instructions: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Fix-the-d-pad-on-the-Xbox-360-control-pad-mor/. I tried it on one of my controllers and can verify it works great and feels much better, but be careful, and remember that you'll be voiding your warranty and can damage your controller.
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